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and things will bubble up that otherwise may have stayed
dormant and festering.
Being an Awesome Solutions Partner
One thing I've learned as a solution partner is that
every retailer is different, and they all communicate quite
differently. Some don't want to hear from me at all unless
they have a problem. Then there are those with whom I can
pick up the phone, pick their brain about a new product,
and have a great chat.
What needs to stay consistent is the attempt to
communicate, from day one. Outlining the critical processes
and double-checking that there is consensus is crucial. If
your retail customer has a different expectation than you
thought, it's only going to become exacerbated as time
goes on.
Don't hesitate to call your retail customers with bad
news. We all have those tough calls to make; things don't
always go perfectly. But the longer you wait, the worse it
will get.
As my friend and boss, Steve Sell, likes to say, deliver
good news fast and bad news even faster. Communicate
truthfully. People can smell BS a mile away. Retailers
have enough to worry about without having to deal with
a vendor who is colorful with the facts.
We also have to accept that sometimes people don't
click. Personalities may clash, or there may be history
of some kind you have no control over. Communicate
anyway. Ask the other party: How would you like
me to communicate? What works best for you? What
have you experienced in the past that you'd like me to
do differently?
Treat others with respect. This goes both ways. I have
seen retailers treat vendors like indentured servants, and I
have also seen vendors acting like they own the place. These
attitudes don't serve anyone and only further build the
walls between the two sides. If you are a retailer and have
a procurement team who handles your LP buying, I suggest
sitting in on a conference call or meeting to see how things
are going.
A finely tuned partnership between retailer and vendor
can only result in benefits for both sides. Just think of the
idea-sharing, problem-solving, and money-saving that could
arise if ideas were exchanged freely and on a regular basis.
To illustrate this, I'll leave you with an example as a final
thought. I let one of my retail partners know I was going to
be in his area recently, and we made plans to grab lunch.
He was telling me about a problem they were having with
some auditing, and I was able to recommend a company to
him that might be able to help. You could write this off as
normal networking or even run-of-the-mill sales stuff, but I
disagree. This came about because we have good
communication and feel comfortable with one another.
Comfort and easy exchange of ideas only come about with
some work upfront on communication. We're there. And
you can be too.
Treat others with respect. This goes
both ways. I have seen retailers treat
vendors like indentured servants, and I
have also seen vendors acting like they
own the place. These attitudes don't
serve anyone and only further build
the walls between the two sides. If you
are a retailer and have a procurement
team who handles your LP buying, I
suggest sitting in on a conference call
or meeting to see how things are going.
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NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2018 | LOSSPREVENTIONMEDIA.COM